Relationships between health status, depression and cognitive functions of institutionalized male veterans

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among health state, depression, and cognitive functions of institutionalized male veterans. A cross-sectional and correlation research design with a cluster sampling was conducted. A total of 223 veterans who were above 65 years old, with no psychiatric disorders and no organic brain lesions were recruited from two veterans' institutions in Southern Taiwan. The researcher interviewed them one-on-one using structural questionnaires, including demographic data, health status, Taiwan Geriatric Depression Scale (TGDS) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The results of this study were as follows: (1) Veterans who were able to read, were married, had good dietary habits, avoided over-oiled and high-fat food to keep healthy, took exercise at least 30 min each time, and had static leisure activities had significant differences in cognitive functions. (2) Cognitive functions were significantly negatively correlated with age and depression, whereas positively correlated with education level, the number of children and perceived health status. (3) Depression, literacy, education level and age were the four predictors of cognitive functions, accounting for 29% of the variance. The findings of this study provide a reference to caregivers and health care professionals for home care, clinical practice and cohort study in the future.